Auctioneers

Two institutions dominated bidding for the notebooks and correspondence of a significant Regency period female author at the Cotswold Auction Company in Cheltenham last week.

Bonhams and Sotheby’s have joined Christie’s in postponing their March New York Asian art auctions due to the spread of coronavirus.

Bonhams has made a number of personnel changes this month as global CEO Matthew Girling departs.

Unique artwork created to feature on film posters is proving to be a strong aspect of the popular entertainment collecting field.

Group of paintings by one of the less well-known masters of the medium comes to light

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Marjorie Bruford Cornish village scene.

A selection of upcoming entertainment lots at auctions ranging from the Fab Four in New York to James Bond in London and Tommy Cooper in Stockport.

Beer was the preferred beverage of all classes in 16th century England and much of it was drunk from imported Rhenish salt-glazed stoneware.

This large lithograph forms part of the Weather Series, a suite of prints created by David Hockney (b.1937) in 1973.

The overall total from the latest London series of Contemporary art auctions was down year-on-year. With one day sale still to run at the time of going to press, the running total of £197.4m from the sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips compared to £253.9m from the equivalent sales in 2019.

Many familiar names were represented in a concentrated 145-lot specialist sale of British and Continental glass at McTear’s (24% buyer’s premium), but the winner by a distance was Lalique’s Formose green glass vase.

Concert posters from the earliest days of bands that later became famous are particulary sought-after at auction. Leading this selection from recent sales is a five-figure example from 1964 which promotes one of the first Rolling Stones tour performances, but many others are available at a lower price range announcing appearances at venues with evocative names such as Bridlington Spa Hall, Basildon Locarno Ballroom and Barnston Women’s Institute.

While furniture and books fully justified its title, The Oxford Library Sale at Mallams (22.5% buyer’s premium) was led by a surprise star: a rather lowly regarded gesso bust of the sort that would have been a minor decoration to such a room.

When buying back their heritage, Cardiff City FC and supporters may not be in the same financial league as Manchester United, but they were a welcome factor at Lockdales (19.5% buyer’s premium).

The Fish Footman puppet is among the most sought after of the entire back catalogue of Pelham Puppets.

According to patent documents dated February 1928, Woodlite headlamps invented by a William G Woods of Los Angeles were said to give the driver better illumination of distant objects ahead.

Not all the posters making four figures at auction fall into the usual Star Wars/James Bond/Hammer/early horror bracket.